Silent Hill 2 Timeline

[Chris Sunderland]

Because of the other team members' lack of commentary, Ito is doing a lot of the shaping of the narrative on these games. Anybody who dares go against his word on more mainstream sites also gets met with a ton of hate and "how dare you question him" type shit.

Well he does know a lot. He worked on these games. I think in most cases he's been justified in shutting down people dismissing his insight on development. I'd rather have his knowledge on the development of the series than nothing. I also wouldn't hit up his Twitter saying he's wrong about the timeline, it's clear he's looking at this from how he envisioned SH2 and how it looked. He wasn't the only one working on the game obviously and we can piece together that SH2 and the whole series overall take place in the Adversary's timeline (probably). I think Ito saw the town in SH2 as 70s/80s in a visual sense and that's where that statement comes from.

[Jonipoon]

To be fair, there were lots of places and towns in the 90s that had not undergone renovation since the late 70s - mid 80s. The mid to late 90s saw a huge boom in redesign and renovation. So it's not really out of the blue to imagine James visiting Silent Hill in the 90s while it still has a certain "vintage" look to it.

[Chris Sunderland]

To be fair, there were lots of places and towns in the 90s that had not undergone renovation since the late 70s - mid 80s. The mid to late 90s saw a huge boom in redesign and renovation. So it's not really out of the blue to imagine James visiting Silent Hill in the 90s while it still has a certain "vintage" look to it.

I think that's what most of us are saying. I must think he's means the towns vibe and or look more than an actual time frame for the game to take place.

[abscindere]

Because of the other team members' lack of commentary, Ito is doing a lot of the shaping of the narrative on these games. Anybody who dares go against his word on more mainstream sites also gets met with a ton of hate and "how dare you question him" type shit.

Well, he's not the only one who said that the game happens in the 70s~80s. In the "Silent Hill 2 Official Complete Guidebook" Hiroyuki Owaku says the same thing:

現実 世界に おける 地理 的な 位置は、 どの 地域
を イメージして います か？

大和 久： 前 作の 町と 同様、 地理 的な 位置は ァ メリ カ 北東 部に なります。 時代 設定は 70 〜 80 年代です が、 特に 参考に した 場所はありません。 「今、 自分が 住んで いる 町から 人が みんない なく なって しまったら …… 」 という 妄想は、 誰し も一 度は 考えること だと 思います。 そ れが 現実 となって しまつ た 町が サイレント ヒルです。
Chapter 7 : Exclusive information, pg. 134

Translated with Google:

What geographical location in the real world do you imagine?

Owaku: Like the town in the previous game, the geographical location is in the northeastern United States. The time period is set in the 70s~80s, but there is no particular place that was used as reference. I think everyone has had the fantasy of "What if everyone disappeared from the town I live in now..." at least once. Silent Hill is the town where that dream has become reality.
Chapter 7: Exclusive information, pg. 134

[Chris Sunderland]

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/s/qPQfY7h12h

Seems he's double downing on it now. Camcorder be damned I guess.

[leftshoe18]

I guess SH2 must exist in a universe where camcorder tech advanced a few years quicker than real life.

[The Adversary]

I guess SH2 must exist in a universe where camcorder tech advanced a few years quicker than real life.

Ito is certainly an invaluable resource, especially for a series that was left-for-dead as of only a couple years ago. It's just . . . not everything he says can be the Last Word. Even Owaku's statement about SILENT HILL 2 being "set in the 70s~80s" doesn't work for the same reason. Owaku's claim was also made long before THE ROOM and on — games neither he nor Ito worked on (SILENT HILL 3 being their last) and games Ito specifically has said he's not particularly interested in.

As I've iterated before: Ito and Co. may very well have written and designed SILENT HILL 2 as though it were set in the '80s. It's entirely believable. However, they did not leave that framework for the people responsible for later games, and, as such, it was out of their hands what the timeline became.

[leftshoe18]

Oh yeah, I was just being sarcastic with that comment. I agree with where your timeline has it placed as it's what makes the most sense.

[The Adversary]

Oh yeah, I was just being sarcastic with that comment. I agree with where your timeline has it placed as it's what makes the most sense.

Ah, gotcha. My bad!

For the record: I'm not trying to say or imply anything remotely close to the idea that I know more than Masahiro Ito. That would be ridiculous. I think it's fair to say I know my shit regarding the Silent Hill series, though, and the timeline is pretty dang good on the whole. It's effectively survived intense scrutiny for nearly 20 years now, with only a couple significant changes, mostly in its formative years.

And because of all this talk about it, spurred by Ito's more recent involvement, I have been trying to rework my entries for SILENT HILL 2 (and related entries) in a way that fits Ito and Owaku's comments. I have always prided my timeline on its inclusion of as many sources as possible (and available) to make it not just the first but also the most comprehensive — and while being as accurate as humanly conceivable.

That said: I haven't found a way to reconcile that idea that James' journey takes place in the 1980s while also taking everything else into consideration. Other information or facts have to be excluded or ignored to get there.

The best I can do is [removed]. And, as of right now, that is only in the beginning of the concept of a plan stage.

Here's Tom with the weather.